High water line

In 2010, Eve Mosher spent six months walking around Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan in NYC marking the 10 feet above sea level line with chalk. The line traced over 70 miles of coast line.

As she walked and chalked, Eve had conversations with people about climate change. This is one of the ways art can reach people in new ways. In this project, the artist is out there talking with people, engaging those who might otherwise be turned off by the polarizing nature of this particular topic.

HighWaterLine is a powerful project because it visualizes what is hard for us to see. The ocean is currently rising at 3-4mm per year (up from .8mm back in the late 1800’s). 4mm is not very much, but it all adds up over the years. If sea level continues to rise at this pace, NYC will experience about 10 feet of sea level rise by the end of this century. Seeing where the water will be in just a few decades can help us all understand how climate change will affect the millions of people who live on the coastlines in the United States and around the world.

I wonder where the 10′ line is on Bainbridge?

HighWaterLine also became a book and a short film, and then spread to other parts of NYC and eventually, other cities.